COMMENT
Increasing returns Businesses in a range of sectors are increasingly demanding employees return to the office – for at least some of the week – and this presents opportunities for print resellers.
It is coming up to the fourth anniversary of when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the country live on television and gave the instruction for everyone to stay at home to try and prevent the continuing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many people, it changed their lives overnight, and saw millions of people become home workers. For many, it was a change that they enjoyed and many have remained home
out more on p28. Along with the growth in demand for office printers will come more orders for printer consumables – more good news for resellers. But increasingly customers are seeking consumables that are more sustainable – and there are now plenty of options on the market. Resellers have an important role in advising customers on what is available and the benefits of them. Read more on p50. Another product range
Dan Parton
workers since – or developed hybrid arrangements where they work at home for a portion of the week and in the office for the remainder. But as memories of the pandemic fade,
that is experiencing a growth in demand are linerless label printers
– and estimates say it is set to grow for at least the rest of the decade. Businesses in the logistics, retail, healthcare, grocery and fast food industries – among others – are
many business owners – from multi-nationals to SMBs – are now encouraging their employees to return to the office on a more permanent basis.
increasingly looking to linerless solutions, and for many reasons, including productivity, sustainability and health and safety. Read more on p41. The return to the office is just one of several opportunities in the print market that resellers should be looking to capitalise on this year and is fuelling a sense of – admittedly still somewhat cautious – optimism for the rest of 2024. Something we haven’t seen much of since pre-COVID days. As ever, I hope you enjoy the issue. If there are any topics you would like to see covered in future issues of Print in the Channel – or if you want to submit a feature, op-ed or news story – please drop me a line at dan@newsinthechannel.com. It would be great to hear from you.
Setting aside the arguments for and against this – and there are many on both sides – what the return to the office does mean is that there are opportunities for print resellers to capitalise on. For instance, demand for multifunctional printers (MFPs) for the office is increasing. Part of the reason for this is need as there are more employees in the office printing more documents, but also many businesses have hung onto their existing MFPs for longer than they usually would during the pandemic period and are now looking to finally upgrade. But what businesses want from their MFPs is changing too, reflecting the increasing move to the cloud and desire for sustainability. Find
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